Posted by Ben Proudlove on Wed, Nov 25, 2009 @ 05:34 AM
This post on worldchanging.com details the new development at Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico where they are using sunlight to convert carbon dioxide and water to syngas.
Using an iron oxide that loses an oxygen molecule at high temperature (1500degC) and retrieves one when cooled down the system can be used to convert CO2 to CO and also H2O to H2. So you can either use it for making Syngas or Hydrogen generation for use in fuel cells.
This is quite an interesting development as it means a relatively low energy demand (the system uses heat from the Sun to generate the 1500degC needed) unlike some other alternative fuel sources. The syngas can then be converted to synthetic fuel via Fischer Tropsch reactions or the hydrogen could be used for electricity generation through fuel cells.
Synthetic fuels can be used though the existing infrastructure so relatively easily employed as an alternative to current car fuels. The hydrogen usage in fuel cells can also be either utilised in mobile fuel cells (e.g. those located in a car) or perhaps easier can be utilised through larger static fuel cells to feed back electricity into the grid (and then distributed where needed).
So does that mean in the future all you'll need is a Sandia type system, a fuel cell, some water and a bit of sunshine. So looks like the UK will be oil dependent for a while longer then......
Posted by Ben Proudlove on Fri, Aug 14, 2009 @ 02:29 PM
British project aims to use energy from coal to produce clean electricity
Very interesting article looking at a recent development in commercial coal gasification in the UK and using the syngas produced to generate energy either using the hydrogen in fuel cells or a process like the Fischer Tropsch (FT) process to turn the syngas into a synthetic petroleum substitute.
Coal and biomass gasification are things we and our suppliers at Rubotherm are actively involved in on a research scale. Using the Rubotherm MSB or HP TGA these gasification processes can be carried out at high temperatures and raised pressures to get an understanding of the process and product produced.
FT research is something Merrow Scientific are also actively involved in in the UK market with our fixed bed and slurry reactors from Autoclave Engineers. Mainly carried out in oven based environments this custom configured systems allow users to carry out exact research on a small scale to develop alternative fuel sources.